As of today, I'm calling myself officially back in action here on the blog. Whew! That was the longest break I've EVER taken from posting regularly, and it felt so weird [but also so necessary given the huge transition I've been going through].

So, starting now, I'm going to be posting regularly again. Not my old 4-days-per-week schedule, as that feels a bit too ambitious for me now (given my reduced availability for EVERYTHING), but I'm going to do my best to put up 3 posts per week, and will be posting on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from here on out.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, we made it through our trip to Chicago with a 2-month old and it was a success! That doesn't mean that there weren't any challenges on the trip--there were *many*--but that we made it through both flights without any breakdowns and I was able to perform my Matron of Honor duties without worrying *too* much about Charlie Mae.

This was mostly because my incredible friend (+ Starr Struck team member), Sara, came to Chicago to take care of our sweet babe while we were at the wedding festivities. In fact, she basically followed me around from one event to another, hiding in the background while wearing Charlie Mae and making her available for me to breastfeed whenever necessary (because our sweet girl sill won't take the bottle). Sara was the MVP of the trip, for sure, and I'm so thankful that she made the trek to help out!

Also, here's a quick story for you from the front lines of new motherhood/breastfeeding in public that I think you'll appreciate:

When we got to the Rehearsal Dinner restaurant on Friday night, there was no obvious place where I felt comfortable whipping out my boob (and the bathroom was tiny and not an option), so we asked if there was a back office or back room where I could nurse Charlie Mae. All that the restaurant could come up with was the coat closet, so Sara, Charlie Mae, and I squished ourselves into a tiny closet for me to breastfeed.

Seeing as there was nowhere to sit in this closet except for a random walker that had been stowed away there, I took a seat on the walker, pulled down the top of my dress (the only way to nurse in the dress I was wearing), and sat topless on the walker to feed Charlie Mae.

About halfway through the nursing session, a male employee of the restaurant burst into the coat closet to retrieve the walker for it's owner. With Charlie Mae still attached to my body and my dress still halfway off, I had to get off of the walker so that Sara could maneuver it around me in the tiny closet and hand it to the confused and embarrassed waiter.

Can you stand it? There was nothing to do but laugh--and realize that this was probably just the first of many times I'll have to do something totally ridiculous in order to keep my child happy out in the world.

Oh, and obviously, my BFF Kelly's wedding was gorgeous and love-filled and I was SO happy to be able to be there for it, despite the complications of traveling with a 2-month old ;) More about the wedding in SJOTW, which will be back on Friday (yay!).

See you back here then...

Ellen

11/2/2016 08:27:29 am

Charlie Mae is the cutest "Baby-Bug" ever!! So glad that you will be returning to your blog, I've missed you. I'm also happy that you were able to be with your adorable daughter during her first weeks and I applaud your choice. Thank-you for the earlier posts, always enjoy the photos. Welcome Back!!

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